This disclosure relates generally to wellbore operations, and, more specifically, to remediating cement issues in wellbore operations.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as an admission of any kind.
A wellbore drilled into a geological formation may be targeted to produce oil and/or gas from certain zones of the geological formation. In some scenarios, to prevent geological zones (e.g., at different depths) from interacting with one another via the wellbore, and to prevent fluids from undesired zones from entering the wellbore, a cylindrical casing may be placed into the wellbore. Additionally, the cylindrical casing may be cemented in place by depositing cement between the cylindrical casing and a wall of the wellbore. As such, during cementing, cement may be injected into the open annulus formed between the cylindrical casing and the geological formation (i.e., the wall of the wellbore). When the cement properly sets, fluids from one zone of the geological formation may not be able to pass through the wellbore to interact with another zone. This desirable condition may be referred to as “zonal isolation.”
In general, the cement maintains the pressure integrity of the well throughout the life of the well. However, complications in the integrity of this pressure barrier may occur during the initial cementing or over time during operation of the well. For example, pockets and/or cracks may be created within the cement that provide a means for undesirable mud/fluid flow. Additionally, in certain circumstances, a microannulus between the cement and the casing or between the cement and the wall of the geological formation may form, possibly leading to undesirable fluid flow between zones.